


Wheels x Wings Combo

by landofspaceandrainbows (cereus)



Series: Murderstuck Meta [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Ableism, Alternian Empire, Classpect Powers (Homestuck), Disability, Dubious Consent, Extremely Dubious Consent, Gen, Meta, Physical Disability, Wheelchairs, assistive technology, murderstuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:07:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28238202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cereus/pseuds/landofspaceandrainbows
Summary: Or: Tavros, Assistive Technology, Non Con Healing, Blood, and Breath( part 1 )
Series: Murderstuck Meta [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2068566
Kudos: 4
Collections: Banned Together Bingo 2020, March Meta Matters Challenge





	Wheels x Wings Combo

( I’m writing this in part because Homestuck has a lot of interesting details that are uncommon in stories, including in this case, interesting details about wheelchairs, and maybe people might not know or notice because info about wheelchairs and how they work isn’t nearly as well known as it should be? Which is a shame in this case because it lets you notice more about Homestuck!)

So beginning with Tavros’s various wheelchairs and assistive devices.

so he starts out with this wheelchair, 

[https://www.homestuck.com/story/2113](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.homestuck.com%2Fstory%2F2113&t=N2Q4MDgyYzQ5OWNkYzc2ZDE5NDdhMDgyY2YwNGQ3YjFiMmVhZDkxYixrTkdCOHFsbA%3D%3D&b=t%3AwkFpyAvtoLfjAa5Mfw6lLA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fthelandoflittlecubesandtea.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F634177425637539840%2Ftavros-and-assistive-tech&m=0&ts=1608631512)

( Standard hospital wheelchair, ugh. )

Which, wheelchairs [really don’t have to be that way ](https://calvin-arium.tumblr.com/post/184341867538/its-here-the-guide-for-two-legged-people-who)??

(above is a link about why hospital wheelchairs suck, and how manual wheelchairs can be!)

It doesn’t even have brakes!!

But tbh that makes sense. Given that he’s in a society in which, to be rather blunt, most physically disabled people are killed by the time they become an adult. (Tbh, the reason he’s probably alive is because he’s a teenager in bumfuck nowhere.) Given that, there just isn’t a lot of reason to develop actually good wheelchairs in that sort of situation, it just isn’t that sort of society. :(

Fortunately.... he will be entering the motherfuckin game soon!!

(Too bad about the meteors crashing into Alternia I guess, but outta that chair!! /jk )

With how things worked out, we don’t get to see him in a nice wheelchair. Of the kind we're used to on Earth.

But we do get to see him go from this.

(Above: Tavros's server player's "Hospitality Failure".)

to this

And eventually, he gets the robo legs.

[https://www.homestuck.com/story/2119](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.homestuck.com%2Fstory%2F2119&t=OTAxYWJhYjc5ODQzMjhkMmVjYzg2MDA2NmM2MTEyYmFlNDM0NjgzOSxrTkdCOHFsbA%3D%3D&b=t%3AwkFpyAvtoLfjAa5Mfw6lLA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fthelandoflittlecubesandtea.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F634177425637539840%2Ftavros-and-assistive-tech&m=0&ts=1608631512)

But tbh, sa the image above of him about to have it done to him in his sleep, it seems to be implied that the stuff with the legs was done somewhat non consensually?

And looking at it - most of his most effective stuff he did in his rocket chair, he comes up with the idea to charm the creatures in his chair too. in his robo legs he can’t even operate them at first and spends a lot of time trying to learn how to go down the stairs. Also

So wanting to fly is something he’s wanted to do for a long time. The chair, which he made himself, allows him to fly, but his robo legs only let him walk. Trading a fairly deep long - lasting wish for a shorter “sort of” one.

And he is the Page of Breath. And rockets are heavily associated with the element of breath in the Homestuck universe.

(and stairs with the element of blood but i’ll get to that later)

And afterwards he sure wasn’t acting like himself…. and then he falls down to a rather harsh if heroic end.

In a way Tavros’s arc is a tragedy, like a Shakespearean one. shackled and directed to his falling arc by forces in his society by forces he can’t quite ever escape.

(Tbh, since he does come back i feel like they could have done more with that later but that’s for later maybe. If they had had him leading the ghost army in rocket chair or boots that could have been a neat follow through and really highlighted these themes.)

But there sure is a lot cool and interesting along the way with our fav. dude!

( One of the main things that many people who actually use wheelchairs comment angrily on is the inaccuracy of the phrase "wheelchair bound" and the emphasis on walking. They often find their wheelchairs instruments of freedom! so it is interesting to see how Homestuck handles these themes - and the element of Breath! )


End file.
